Nightingale
Inflexion Games Studio
Set out on a journey of survival and adventure, into the mysterious and dangerous Fae Realms of Nightingale! Become an intrepid Realmwalker, and venture forth alone or with friends – as you explore, craft, build and fight across a visually stunning Gaslamp Fantasy world.
Nightingale only joined Steam Early Access on February 20th, so our comments today are likely to change in the future. At the moment, though, Nightingale is a flawed but fun PVE survival game that’s easy to lose a few hours in. Content is currently a little on the limited side; crafting needs an overhaul, and combat scaling can be… not good. Nightingale has a lot of potential, but it is very Early Access when posting this review.
Set in a Victorian-era world with Fae and their magic, Realmwalkers have learned to create portals to explore other lands. You’ve been cut off from home after the collapse of the arcane portal network and are lost in the Fae realms. Getting home is the end goal, but being able to navigate the transdimensional portals also means you must become a skilled Realmwaler.
It’s a simple story that doesn’t matter much. Like most survival games, the story is secondary to the gameplay. Nightingale is a survival game, but there’s more to it. While it comes with survival gameplay, you don’t need shelter or to eat. Making a shelter, building furniture and eating meals will provide you with crucial buffs that make life easier. The system allows it to be a core mechanic without forcing players only to play the game one way.
Pros
Beautiful worlds
Extremely high production versatile game
Co-op great but single player works too
Engaging gameplay loop with endless exploration
Fun crafting and gear system
Awesome Twitch Drops
Cons
Game work in progress
Flawed NPC companion system
Awkward combat
Inconsistent frame rates
There are quests to complete, NPCs and whole NPC towns, gear to collect and some super-strong boss enemies to take down. Nightingale can be played alone, but it’s best experienced with others, making it much more manageable.
Every realm is different, and they come with Realm Cards. The Major Card is a Biome Card to determine the biome of the realm, and the optional Minor Card changes the rules that govern that realm. Only one Minor Card can be active at once and can be swapped at any time. This is a great way to customise your game to make it easier or more difficult. Nightingale is a very versatile game, offering different ways to play that are sure to appeal to different types of gamers.
After 70 hours of gameplay I’m relieved to write the game was worth the wait. Nightingale is an outstanding survival game that keeps playability fresh with realm cards that will keep you entertained with friends for hours a night!
